þ Abebe Bikila Day
ü International Peace
ý Marathon & Half
Safety And Health Foundation
611 South Ivy Street ● Arlington Virginia 22204
● 703-927-4833
www.SafetyAndHealthFoundation.org/bikila
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Dear Marathoner, Half-Marathoner, Volunteer, Spectator, or Sponsor:
Welcome to the 9th Abebe Bikila Day International Peace Marathon & Half, on the C&O Canal Towpath, starting and finishing at Fletcher’s Cove in Washington DC, presented by Safety And Health Foundation (SHF). We thank all our participants for your support and training for this event, many of you hoping to qualify for 2016 Boston Marathon.
Today, we compete on the playing field of peace as we welcome runners from all over the world. Abebe Bikila’s historic wins at the 1960 and 1964 Olympic Marathons – the first-ever medal by a black African – inspired runners worldwide and taught us that Sport is truly an international language, along with Art, Math, Music, and Science.
Our race benefits ● BuyaBrickFoundation (www.TeamAfrica.com) Stomp Out Malaria program ● Ethio-American Athletics Association (EAAA, www.eafna.org) ● DC Capital Striders (www.dccapitalstriders.com) and.
We thank our sponsors: ● American General Supplies, Inc., the second-largest Ethiopian-owned business in the USA (www.agsusa.com) ● Grimmway Farms (www.grimmway.com) ● Georgetown Running Company, 3405 M Street NW, Washington DC (202-337-8626), and 4461 Willard Avenue, Chevy Chase MD (301-215-6355) (blog.run.com/georgetown-running-company/washington-dc) ● Mark Accounting & Computing Service (703-356-9113 or 202-541-7979) (www.markcomputing.com) ● Falls Road Running Store, 6247 Falls Road, Baltimore MD 21209 (410-296-5050) (www.baltimorerunning.com) ● Dama Pastry, 1505 Columbia Pike, Arlington VA 22204 (703-920-5620) and Dama Market Restaurant, 1503 Columbia Pike, Arlington VA (703-920-3559) - the best Ethiopian food and drink in the DC area (www.damapastry.com and www.damamarketandrestaurant.com) ● Simone Super Energy (www.simonesuperenergy.com) ● Timex Ironman ● PRRACER.COM ● Altra Running Shoes (www.altrarunning.com ) ● Trader Joe’s ● Metro 29 Diner ● Corrective Therapy and Fitness ● Smarty Pants Vitamins ● Mario’s Pizza House
Bring your used shoes: MORE Foundation Group, a non-profit organization, provides used athletic shoes to street vendors in Africa providing tools, seeds, and training for the poorest farm families in Ghana.
Pre-race packet pick-up is Friday, September 11, 3:00 PM-6:00 PM, Georgetown Running Company, 3401 M Street NW, Washington DC 20007 (202-337-8626). Get a colorful tech t-shirt, a great goodie bag, and your bib number. We time the race the old-fashioned way -- bib numbers rather than chips -- so please do not lose your bib number, please wear it visibly on the front of your shirt or shorts, not on your back or sleeve, and please don’t remove the tear-off tag. We collect those tags after you finish to score the race. At packet pickup, meet Ethiopian author Peter Hagos Gebre, author of The Other Side of the Mountain, about a modern Ethiopian boy inspired to run by Abebe Bikila and buy an autographed copy of his book for $3.99.
Race-day packet pick-up is Saturday, September 12, 7:15 AM-8:45 AM, at Fletcher’s Cove. We offer check-in for warm-up clothes at the race-day registration table, but no backpacks or duffel bags, please.
Directions to Fletcher’s Cove: From Georgetown, take M Street west. Bear left at Foxhall Road onto Canal Road. Continue about 1.5 miles to the first break in the stone wall on your left, the entrance to Fletcher’s Cove, across from Reservoir Road. With caution, turn left and go down the ramp into the tunnel on the right and then around a curve to free parking. When the parking at Fletcher’s Cove is full, please turn right on Reservoir Road and park on any of the side streets or on MacArthur Boulevard and take the short walk downhill to Fletcher’s Cove.
When you pick up your bib number, please check your time and distance. If your bib number tag says “9:00 AM” or “8:00 AM” but you want to start at 8:00 AM or 9:00 AM, please tell the registrar to correct the roster and write “8:00 AM” or “9:00 AM” on your bib number. Also inform the registrar if you want to change distances between the full marathon and the half. Both 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM start times are official and can be used as Boston Marathon qualifiers. Competitive awards are reserved for 9:00 AM marathoners, except we present 6 Timex Ironman GPS watches, one each to the first finishers M/F in the 8:00 AM half and full marathon and in the 9:00 half marathon.
On Race-Day: Please stay in the registration area until 5 minutes before your start so you don’t obstruct the Towpath. At 7:40 AM and 8:40 AM, join us signing the National Anthem, led by Selamawit Seifu, daughter of 2-time Ethiopian Olympic boxer Seifu Makonnen, founder of this event and one its beneficiaries. Seifu is hospitalized awaiting a kidney transplant, and he can really use your personal prayers, best wishes, and donations for his medical expenses.
At 7:45 AM and 8:45 AM, the race director rings a memorial bell 184 times to remember the 184 victims at the Pentagon in Arlington VA on September 11, 2001. After the bell-ringing ceremony, we walk upstairs to Towpath, where the race director provides final instructions before whistling the start. Please NO HEADPHONES from National Anthem to start, or you’ll miss important instructions.
Specials ● At packet pickup, get a HydraPUR BPA-free water carrier in Ethiopian colors RED GREEN GOLD + PINK ● Listen to inspiring music, 11:00 AM to 12 noon, by internationally-known performer Anna Mwalagho of Kenya ● Learn water safety and kayak instruction by Vietnam veteran Van Trammel after 8:00 AM ● Enjoy massage by Nicholas Ovel of Corrective Therapy & Massage ● Enjoy MC “Showtime Mike” Mebreahtu of Eritrea ● Covered LIVE by Ethiopian Broadcasting Service (www.ebstv.tv) ● Meet Nini Legesse of Wegene Ethiopian Foundation (www.wegene.org), educating Ethiopian children worldwide ● Meet author Peter Hagos Gebre ● Eat injera courtesy of Dama Restaurant.
Course Map ● Thank you for celebrating Ethiopian New Year with us!
Turnaround
Lock 10 aid station
Lock 7 aid station
Lock 5 aid station
Chain Bridge
Start / Finish
Marathon midpoint
Course: C&O Canal Towpath is only 12 feet wide, so please be careful. Stay away from the edge near the water. Towpath starts in Georgetown and continues 183 miles west, with milestones every mile. Fletcher’s Cove is about 0.2 miles west of Milestone 3. We run westbound toward Maryland for 6.55 miles, past Milestones 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. We turn around about 0.75 miles west of Milestone 9. Half marathon course is out'n'back once; full marathon is out’n’back twice. Half marathoners are done upon return to Fletcher’s Cove. Full marathoners are at marathon midpoint at Fletcher’s Cove, then they repeat the course. Our marshals at turnaround and marathon midpoint record bib numbers on clipboards and report to finish line by cell phone, so we know who runs the whole distance.
We thank our aid stations volunteers: EAAA at Lock 5, BuyaBrickFoundation at Fletcher’s Cove & Lock 7; and DC Capital Striders at Lock 10. Portable toilets and permanent toilets are at Fletcher’s Cove and Lock 5. All aid stations offer water and Gatorade, and we offer Simone Super Energy and CarbBoom gel at start / midpoint / finish. Spectators can watch at Chain Bridge, Lock 5, Lock 6, Lock 7, Lock 8, Lock 9, and Lock 10, accessible only from eastbound Clara Barton Parkway.
The course is flat, except for slight rises at Lock 5 and under I-495 Capital Beltway outbound, slight drops at those points on the way back. Each rise is about 20 feet. Those two rises are the only paved segments of the course. With no hills, no turns, no cross streets, and soft surface for 26.2 miles, you can focus on running and have a really good time. The surface is rough gravel, however, so don’t wear thin-soled shoes. I generally wear thick socks when I run on the Towpath. Even in early morning, you see other runners, cyclists, other trail users, and great blue herons. Please always stay to the right and be courteous to other trail users. Please pay attention to Towpath’s Milestones 4 to 9, and we also deploy our own mile signs.
We care about each runner’s safety. If you drop out, an aid station is always about a mile away, and the volunteers at all the aid stations have cell phones, extra vehicles, blankets in case of cold, and cold water and ice in case of heat.
Post-race: Immediately after you finish the marathon – no waiting – at the finish line, we present awards to the top 9:00 AM marathoners– $250, $150, and $100 to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd males and females, gift certificates to the top 3 by 10-year age group (19 & under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70 & over). Only 9:00 AM marathoners qualify for awards. Awards include gift certificates from Falls Road Running Store, Georgetown Running Company, Metro 29 Diner, and a thumb piano from Tanzania. Right after you finish the 9:00 AM marathon, please stay in finish area to listen for your name to receive your award if any. We mail awards unclaimed on race day and e-mail colorful finisher certificates.
When you finish, continue into the chute and give your tear-off tag to the finish line official. Every finisher gets a medal by Dan Kain Trophies. Walk downstairs to the picnic area for Dunkin’ Donuts bagels, Mario’s Pizza House, Simone Super Energy, Whole Foods bananas, Dama Restaurant injera, and more. Please use the trash boxes near each aid station and Fletcher’s Cove.
Our official photographer is Tony Estrada, www.backprint.com/tonyestradaphotography. If you take additional photos, please share them via our Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/AbebeBikilaMarathon .
Results will be at www.safetyandhealthfoundation.org/20150912.html post-race - and sent to BAA.
Please sponsor us! See www.safetyandhealthfoundation.org/bikila, or contact (703-927-4833).
Thank you! Run in peace and understanding!
Jay Jacob Wind, Director, Safety And Health Foundation